Some tears came out of Sarn's eyes, realizing the situation. She had accepted her fate, but she wouldn’t go before proving her worth. Sarn looked at the trees around her. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, her grip tightening on the sword. Her chest heaved as she tried to steady her breath, her mind clearing just enough to focus.

  Her gaze shifted to the trees surrounding her—their tall, dense trunks and scattered branches above. She realized this wasn’t just an open battleground. It was a pce she could use to turn the tide.

  "If this is where I fall," Sarn muttered to herself, her voice steady despite the pounding in her chest, "it won’t be without proving my worth."

  A burst of fire, and she swung at the celestial. It missed. "Ah, I see," the celestial sneered, looking at the lower part of the trees where the attack had nded. "That’s a hell of an attack, but useless." He paused for a moment. "Ah, you’re full of surprises. Maybe this will be worth my time after all."

  Sarn breathed heavily, her body trembling with exhaustion and pain. Her attacks hadn’t done enough. Her fme-coated sword left only faint burns and scratches on the celestial’s form. She gripped her weapon tightly as she backstepped, her shoulders brushing the battered tree behind her.

  The celestial ughed, his voice sharp and mocking. “Is this the best you’ve got? You think you can beat me with those weak little swings?”

  Sarn stayed silent. Her face betrayed nothing but focus. She gnced briefly at the tree—scarred from earlier attacks—and let her fme flicker low, feigning exhaustion. Her hand trembled, a subtle move she exaggerated on purpose.

  The celestial noticed, sneering. "I see what you're getting at." Sarn's eyes widened. She didn’t have time to think, but "What does he mean?" she thought. "Could it be... could it be he’s reading my mind?" The celestial stood still, ready to finish her off. Why didn’t he act faster?

  A few moments ter, the celestial smirked. "You’re getting it, but this won’t help."

  Sarn was confused. What should she do? If the assumption was true, it was nearly impossible to beat him. Her eyes widened as she realized it.

  She gripped her sword with both hands, her body trembling—not from fear, but from the weight of the moment. The pressure to act surged within her, and yet she couldn’t allow herself to show even the slightest hesitation. The celestial was closing in, perhaps for the final blow. What should I do? she thought, looking around.

  Teeth clenched, she lunged—no time to think.

  She lunged. Her attack didn’t affect him—it barely reduced the force of his strike, making Sarn almost slip. But she caught herself, using the sword for bance. Then, one desperate move—an attack.

  The celestial smirked, almost amused. Sarn’s eyes widened. The sharp edges—they were in his hands. He had grabbed the sword with both hands, right over his head. Her only reliance—he seized it.

  “Action without thinking will result in nothing but tiny scratches,” he stated.

  The bde dug into his palms, red blood dripping down, staining the steel. The pain was clear—yet it didn’t faze him.

  He didn’t waste time. He tried to pull the sword out of her hands by grabbing those same sharp edges. “Enough with this. I’ll end it right now,” he shouted.

  Her mind raced.

  “No,” she muttered through clenched teeth. She couldn’t think of anything but no. Her mind wasn’t ready to die.

  In desperation, she gave it her all—her experiences, her skills. The sword’s edge fred to life with fmes, a strength she had only recently achieved.

  The celestial froze, startled. Instinctively, he paused. He wondered, Is she actually not thinking?

  Sarn took the chance. It wasn’t part of any pn. But survival screamed at her to push. With all her strength, she forced the sword forward. It still didn’t pierce deep—but the celestial, in haste, pulled at the sword, his grip on the sharp edge tightening.

  That’s when luck intervened—in their struggle—her push, his pull—the bde slipped from his control, not hers. Steel met forehead. Blood followed.

  He lost his grip. The sword sliced through his forehead.

  A gasp escaped her lips as she watched blood spill.

  The celestial stumbled. No time to think. She couldn’t afford to hesitate now. Even Sarn was surprised—it wasn’t intentional. It was the impact of her force.

  Then came instinct. She released her left hand from the sword and smmed it into his throat. The celestial’s grip locked around her wrist, cws digging in. He tried to pull away—but his strength wasn’t enough.

  What force is this? Even a celestial couldn’t break free. He didn’t expect it. He couldn’t pull back.

  With no mercy, Sarn yanked him forward, smashing his head into a thick, exposed tree root. The impact was sickening—his skull cracked audibly, and blood sprayed from his mouth as he coughed.

  He tried to speak. “Y...you... li...ttle—”

  This is my chance, she thought. She knew she couldn’t let him recover.

  She stabbed him—first the lower abdomen, then the throat. She couldn’t think about the brutality of what she’d done. She had to end it.

  The ground, her clothes—blood-soaked. The uniform looked almost bckish-red now, dyed with both their blood.

  But when she aimed for his heart—

  Something shifted.

  The tree she had struck earlier—

  It fell.

  She heard nothing—only felt the earth quake beneath her, then splintering wood, then pain. White-hot. Unforgiving.

  The heavy trunk crashed onto her legs with brutal force. Her eyes widened as she felt the weight pin her down.

  Her energy was gone. She could barely move, let alone fight. The pain wanted to make her scream, but if only she had the energy to...

  The celestial’s blood dripped from his mouth, staining his own chest as he struggled to heal. But even for one like him, the damage was too great. His body trembled under the strain, unable to recover in time.

  Sarn looked at him one final time—bloodied, brutal. Both of them were pinned. Did that make any difference between dying by a celestial or by a tree? She coughed the blood she had held long during the fight. Now, she realized, she had lost too much blood to survive.